Report to Readers: This story wasn’t ours

At least a couple residents in the New London area received an email in recent days that included what purported to be a news article published in the Monitor about the former town police chief.

The chief, as we reported last week, was forced from his job after a Colby-Sawyer College student accused him of offering to drop charges against her in exchange for her posing for nude photographs.

But the fake story contained in the email is full of off-color jokes about him. It is made to look like such a story appeared on the Monitor website, written by one of our reporters.

The story is a hoax. It did not appear in our newspaper or on our website. It was not written by our reporter. And while the intended target was likely the former New London chief, it is damaging to the reputation of the Monitor and our staffer.

We are working hard to find the source of the email. If you’ve received it, we would appreciate hearing from you.